Writing memoir? Get a therapist. Now.
It's the best decision you'll ever make. You'll write better, faster and more courageously if you have support. Decision #9 from Sixteen Superpowers Memoir Writers Need to Have.
Photo by taylor hernandez on Unsplash
9. Get a therapist. Now.
YOUR MANTRA: Stuff will come up, and that’s OK.
Especially if you’re doing this right. If it hurt before, it will hurt again. If you’re staying present and writing with immediacy, you are letting yourself hurt twice so you can make art. It’s not a terrible thing if stuff comes up that makes you more confused about the meaning in the story you’re after—it’s actually a great thing! This means you’re seeing with new eyes and asking harder questions.
Don’t let yourself be daunted by this. Your aim is to create a catharsis for the reader.
But do get support. You’re going to want an extra person on your team to take care of you while you write.
Mary Karr is a huge proponent of therapy while writing a memoir.
“In terms of cathartic affect, memoir is like therapy, the difference being that in therapy, you pay them. The therapist is the mommy, and you’re the baby. In memoir, you’re the mommy, and the reader’s the baby. And—hopefully—th…
